A book, specifically one for merchants to keep an eye on?
Sean indeed couldn’t recall it at first. The arrival of Luke and the others had brought him considerable peace of mind, and that night they barely discussed matters of Oroc City, simply letting them eat and rest early. Of course, if they liked, they could also take a look around Oroc City—it was now considered his home.
As for the siblings Claude and his sister, Sean had arranged for them to live in the Earl’s residence. Claude was a mechanical expert; most of the Skov family’s firearms back then were debugged and crafted by him. Sean intended to keep him around to help forge more quality weapons in the future. Though this world harbored all sorts of unknown entities, for the average people living under the sun, firearms were already the most dangerous weapons they could access. Equipping his security squad with a batch would make managing the city much easier.
In his spare time, Sean would often come alone to stand before the sand table and observe…
Watching this city, now stamped with his name, every move and every street within his sight. Oroc City had no curfew—this was one of Orlando’s suggestions. The reasoning was that with nonstop day-and-night operations, wealth would accumulate. It was a staggering figure. Sean had someone calculate the revenue flow from all the night markets in a single evening, reaching nearly three hundred thousand gold coins in circulation. Of that, the ruler only took a small portion in taxes and fees—seemingly just a few thousand gold coins—but there was room for growth. Over a day, a month, a year, it added up to a substantial number.
Now, Oroc City’s airship routes had also opened, with airships continuously docking in the city. Perhaps within half a year, the city could develop normally… Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.
At times like this, Sean would suddenly think of the situation on the border. He got up, intending to head to the study to find a map of the Oroc region’s borderlines, but at the doorway, he ran into Luke.
“What brings you here? Not taking Esmeralda for a stroll in the night market?” Sean said this, making the big man look a bit embarrassed… Back in Taylormian, it was clear there were feelings between them, and she had even been willing to follow him from their ancestral homeland to this city, showing true sincerity. Sean certainly hoped they’d end up together—that way, Luke would have a family and his heart might settle down.
“Uh… maybe next time. She’s tired today.”
“You’ve got to be more proactive with a girl. She’s waited for you this long.” Sean patted his shoulder. Since coming to this world, there weren’t many people he could truly trust, but this young man was definitely one of them.
“Yes, yes.” Luke nodded in reply. He was meticulous in work but always a bit slow in personal matters.
“So, what’s up? Why come find me?” From Sean’s understanding of him, Luke usually wouldn’t disturb him at night unless something was up.
“It’s not a big deal. I heard from Lord Harry about the situation on the border, and it suddenly reminded me of the merchant caravans we met on the way here. We bought some things from them and even ate together at the camp. I remember they said they’d never been to the Basharan Empire before.” Luke hesitated.
He was still…
“Never been?”
“Yes. Then I heard about this from Lord Harry… I was wondering if the king of Edak might be trying to take control of the old city while Tacoma is vulnerable?”
“Harry thinks the same as you. But given Edak’s situation in recent years, do they have the capability to occupy a place like this right now?”
Luke shook his head.
The overall world格局 was like this: the continent where the Basharan Empire sat was broadly called the Northern Continent. The central part was the Zambutar region, highly developed in both industry and manufacturing. To the west was the highland nation of the Ashman region, and to the east was the land of yellow sands and oases, the Edak region. Due to natural conditions, neither region was as comfortable as Zambutar, and their populations were far smaller. Population and environment largely determined a region’s development… Historically, many battles were fought within a single region, with few long-distance expeditions. The principle of “befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones” had always held true.
Thus, both Luke and Sean felt the other side wouldn’t dare to actually mobilize troops and start a war—it might just be a probe. If they stood firm, the enemy would pull back; if they compromised, the enemy could seize control of the entire border. So Sean needed to prepare multiple contingencies.
“I’ve already sent reinforcements to the border. Like them, we can only linger along the border—we’re not familiar with Edak’s terrain and can’t manage a long-distance expedition.”
Luke nodded in agreement. For now, the best course was to wait and see, maintaining a standoff at the border without making any further moves.
………………
At night, Sean lay alone in bed, staring out the window. The moonlight was the same as ever, but his mind kept dwelling on the border situation… He really hoped nothing would go wrong. His city had just been established—it was a paper tiger. If it came to real conflict, all the effort of this period would be wasted.
Thinking and thinking…
He fell asleep.
In his dream, Sean recalled the time he fought in Tacoma City. That battle was probably the most颠覆ing one in both his lives. Without the help of the Eye of Gehros, he’d have been ready to cross over again. There was also the night of the goatmen’s 『mist』, and the journey with the mercenary squad—especially the alchemist Alphonse’s theory of “the one is all, and all is one.”
Suddenly, Sean remembered a certain sentence they’d spoken before.
‘The Necronomicon!’
He snapped his eyes open and sat up in bed…
Looking around, everything was still as it was in his room.
Sean rubbed his somewhat dizzy head and thought back to the scene in his dream.
That’s right.
The Necronomicon.
What the merchants in Edak were told to keep an eye on should be the Necronomicon. The alchemist had once said the Necronomicon recorded Deep Ones appearing in Tacoma City. And though Alphonse got nothing but a bounty that time, thinking back on the words he didn’t say—why would a Level 7 Order follower go with a mercenary squad to such a dangerous area? If there wasn’t some benefit…
So, could the Necronomicon be in the old city of Tacoma? .